Stamp and ticket vending machine.



E. E. WIGZELL. STAMP AND TICKET VENDING MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1909. 955,032. Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

3 SHEETB-SHEET l.

i W/f/VESSES I I/VVE/VTOR U QQ Q- 3 6 Q ANDRM t WM" 00. PHUm-UTHOGRAPMERK WASHINGTON 3 SHEETS-SHBBT 2.

[TNESSES NVVE/VTO/P Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

. B. WIGZELL. STAMP AND TICKET-VENDING MACHINE.

--;A'PBi-ICATION 1 11.31) NOV. 2, 1909.

955,032. PatentedApr. 12,1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES I fNVfi/VTOR gnnm IQMNAM cc. Pmro-mnosmwms, WASHING ON. n. u.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUSTACE ERNEST WIGZELL, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

STAMP AND TICKET VENDING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUSTACE ERNEST WIG- znLL, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Billiter House, Billiter Street, London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stamp and Ticket Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement consists in a machine coin or check controlled designed for the purpose of supplying and delivering postage stamps and tickets automatically as required and is constructed in the following manner: I have a plate or frame preferably of metal, fixed in a vertical position upon which the working parts of this 'machine are mounted the whole being inclosed in a box provided with doors for access to same. Fitted on one side of this frame in a suitable position I have a box or drum in which the postage stamps or tickets in a continuous roll are placed, one end of the roll passing out through an opening cut on the circumference of this box along a trough and in between two drawing and delivery rollers which are of equal diameter and of the required size to suit postage stamps or tickets. Placed in front of these rollers is a loose roller for keeping the stamps or tickets flat. The bot tom delivery roller is pivoted on a lever having a spring at one end for the purpose of keeping this roller hard against the top roller when the machine is delivering, and for the purpose of separating them when charging the machine. Or this lever may be dispensed with and the bottom roller placed at the top of the working roller pressure being maintained by tightening screws or springs. The rollers are preferably geared together to insure accuracy in working. At a given distance along the trough there is a hole of suflicient size to allow of a steel ball falling through, it bein prevented from rolling by means of a meta strap having a hole in same corresponding to the size of the ball. When the postage stamp or ticket is over the hole in the trough the ball is prevented from falling through but should the stamps or tickets inadvertently break when delivering or come to the end of the roll in the usual course when passing over this hole the ball would fall through and down a tube into a cup fixed on a lever Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 2, 1909.

Patented Apr. 12, 1910.

Seria1 No. 525,877.

which is pivoted at the bottom of the frame. One end of this lever is coupled to a connecting rod which is attached to a lever and pivoted on the frame at a given distance forming a trigger which releases an arm by means of a spring attached to a plate closing the opening or slot in which the coin is inserted for obtaining a postage stamp or ticket.

The mechanism for revolving the rollers equal to the length or width of a postage stamp or ticket is constructed and arranged in the following manner: The top roller is attached to a shaft passing through the plate or frame and on the reverse side keyed to this shaft there is a ratchet wheel with teeth at given distances apart. Over this shaft there is a loose sleeve with an arm to which a pawl is attached and which works the tooth wheel. On this loose sleeve I fit a tooth wheel which gears into a toothed quadrant plate of larger diameter than the said tooth wheel in order to shorten the stroke of the. operating lever which when pulled down turns the ratchet wheel and the drawing and delivery rollers drawing the stamps or tickets from the container box or drum in such a manner that one stamp or ticket only will protrude from an opening in the box at the front of the machine upon every stroke of the lever where it can be severed ready for use. For regulating the travel of the stamp or ticket the arm referred to on the loose sleeve rests against a stop and on its forward motion there is an arm forming part of the loose sleeve which comes against another stop, these arms being webbed together. An arm and spring are attached to the toothed quadrant plate for bringing the lever and gearing back to the normal position. For releasing the lever or handle I have a bolt swung on a link one end coming against the arm on the loose sleeve and the other against a stop. When a coin is inserted in the slot placed conveniently at the top of the box it falls down a chute on to the end of the bolt pressing the latter down and releasing the arm on the loose sleeve. Attached to this arm there is a connecting rod one end of which being attached to a pivoted lever which lifts up the chute throwing the com over the stop into a receptacle and on the lever coming back to its former position the bolt will drop back preventing the handle from being moved by the arm without the insertion of another coin. By lengthening the rollers of this machine it can be adapted to deliver two or more postage stamps when attached side by side by the perforations from a continuous roll of stamps arranged in that manner.

In order to adapt this machine more particularly for delivering tickets, the shaft attached to the toothed quadrant plate and lever passes through the frame and keyed to that portion of said shaft on the reverse side of the plate or frame I have a lever which is attached to a spring or connecting rod said spring or connecting rod being attached to the top of any ordinary revolving dating stamp which is placed in the trough along which the tickets pass in the same manner as the postage stamps, the tickets passing underneath the dating stamp. When the lever is pulled down the dating stamp is lifted and turns in the ordinary manner against the inking pad and allows the ticketto be drawn from the machine by the drawing and delivery rollers in the manner already described. hen the lever returns to its normal position, it brings. the dating stamp off the inking .pad turning it around and down on to the next ticket thereby dating each ticket prior to its passing out between the two rollers.

To illustrate this invention, I have appended hereto drawings as follows Figure 1 shows a vlew of one side of the machine with the stamps or tickets in the container box or drum, and a portion of the mechanism. Fig. 2 shows the reverse side of the machine with the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the mechanism for operating the dating stamp.

With reference to Fig. 1: the metal plate or frame for carrying the working parts of the machine is indicated by A. B is the container box or drum for the roll of postage stamps or tickets O which pass out at 1) along the trough E under the loose roller H and in between the two rollers F and G which are geared together, roller F being keyed to a spindle V passing through the plate A. The lever I is attached to the bot tom roller G and pivoted at J, tension being obtained by the spring K. L is the steel ball held in position by a holder U extending across the trough E. In the bottom of the trough directly underneath the ball there is a hole V so that when the postage stamp or ticket is under this ball the latter is retained in its position, but should the stamp or ticket break at the perforation or come to the end of the length in the ordinary course the ball falls through the hole in the trough and down the tube M into the cup N pulling down the lever O lifting the connecting rod P which in turn lifts the lever Q, releasing the arm R and closing the opening J by a spring R shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is the reverse side of the late or frame A. V is the end of the shaft (eyed to the roller F on the side of the frame A shown by Fig. 1, having a ratchet wheel W keyed to same. There is a loose sleeve X over this shaft having an arm Y with a pawl Z for working the ratchet wheel W which is provided with a spring stop P The tooth wheel S is attached to the loose sleeve X and 1 working in said tooth wheel is the toothed quadrant plate T keyed to a shaft V to which the handle A is attached. The handle A works the tooth wheel S by the quadrant plate T for turning the ratchet wheel by means of the pawl Z and therewith the delivery rollers F and G in Fig. l in such a manner that one stamp or ticket only will protrude from the opening in the front of the machine at each stroke of the said handle. The arm Y on the loose sleeve X rests against a stop B and for its forward motion is provided with an arm C these arms being webbed together as shown at D the bottom arm coming against a stop For bringing the handle and gearing back to the normal positionthere is an arm and spring F attached to the toothed quadrant plate T. The bolt or bar is shown by G swung on the link H one end coming against the arm Y and the other against a stop I. The coin is inserted in the slot J at the top of the box and falls down the chute K on to the end of the swinging bar Gr pressing same down and releasing the arm Y. Attached to this arm there is a connecting rod L one end being attached to a pivoted lever M which lifts up the chute K and throws the coin N over the stop I, the swinging bolt G falling back into its normal position. For closing the opening J, I have a plate U connected by a rod and crank U to an arm Q," which has a spring R for operating same as already described with reference to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the mechanismfor dating tickets. The shaft V is extended through the plate or frame A and is fitted at the end with a lever S to which is attached the connecting rod or spring T, said spring or connecting rod being coupled to the top of the revolving dating stamp U the frame of which is fixed to the trough E, along which the tickets pass and underneath the dating stamp, the inking pad being shown at W.

All other reference letters refer to similar parts in all drawings.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A check-controlled stamp or ticket vending machine having, in combination with mechanism for feeding a strip of stamps or tickets, check-controlled means for rendering such mechanism normally inoperative, parts forming a check inlet, a normally' retracted inlet obstructing device, and a gravit'ating ball arranged to interact with such strip for obstructing said inlet by said device when the strip breaks or is run out.

2. A check controlled stamp or ticket vending machine having, in combination with mechanism for feeding a strip of stamps or tickets, check controlled means for rendering such mechanism normally inoperative, parts forming a check inlet, a normally retracted inlet obstructing device, a gravitating ball arranged to interact with such strip for obstructing said inlet by said device when the strip breaks or is run out, a trough supporting said strip and having a hole beneath said ball, and an open-topped holder for said ball extending across said trough.

3. A check controlled stamp or ticket vending machine having, in combination with mechanism for feeding a strip of stamps or tickets, check-controlledmeans for ren dering such mechanism normally inoperative, parts forming a check inlet, a normally retracted inlet obstruct-ing device, means for rendering this device normally retracted, a spring by which said device is actuated to obstruct said inlet when released, and means constructed and arranged to interact with such strip for releasing said inlet obstructing device when the strip breaks or is run out.

4;. A checkcontrolled stamp or ticket vending machine having, in combination with mechanism for feeding a strip of stamps or tickets, check-controlled means for rendering such mechanism normally inoperative, inletforming parts including a check chute, an inlet-obstructing plate having a horizontal pivot adjacent to the top of said chute, a spring device including a rock shaft parallel with said pivot and provided with a catch arm, a stop lever interacting with said arm when said plate is retracted, a gravitating ball arranged to interact with such strip, a trough supporting said strip and having a hole beneath said ball, means for normally retaining said ball in position above said hole, a lever having a cup beneath said chute to hold the ball when it is dropped, and to be actuated thereby and connections for transmitting motion from said cup lever to said stop lever to retract the latter.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EUSTACE ERNEST WIGZELL.

Vitnesses E. F. B. PALMER, F. L. RAND. 

